Happy Wednesday!
As skating season begins, the Trump name has been removed from the boards around a pair of ice rinks in Central Park that President Donald Trump has run since the 1980s. The changes in branding mark not a shift in ownership but a milestone: For the first time since the president took office, two of his businesses seem to be trying to downplay their connection to his name. [WaPost]
Topping the news: Salt Lake County Councilwoman Aimee Winder Newton announced Wednesday morning her plans to run for governor, joining an increasingly crowded field of hopefuls. [Trib]
-> A slew of business owners, poverty advocates and education leaders voiced their objection to a massive tax reform proposal released last week by leaders of a legislative panel. [Trib]
-> Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox said that keeping The Road Home’s shelter open through the winter is still an option on the table amid capacity concerns within three new Salt Lake City centers. [Trib] [DNews]
-> Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson proposed a new property tax hike in her annual budget plan that would amount to about $33 per year for the average homeowner in an effort to solve “huge” structural financial challenges. [Trib] [DNews]
Tweets of the day: From @devon_cantwell: “Finding out that Romney has a secret Twitter account to rip at Trump is the pinnacle of Utah passive-aggressive culture.”
-> From @FredTJoseph: “Whether you’re speaking for or against him, I’m going to need white people to stop freely using the concept of lynching today to make their points.”
-> From @KFILE: “While Biden has called Trump’s lynching comments ‘abhorrent’ and ‘despicable,’ in 1998 appearance on CNN, Biden said impeachment could end up being viewed as a ‘partisan lynching.’”
Happy Birthday: To Ric Cantrell of the Utah Attorney General’s Office and political scientist Tim Chambless.
Also in the news: Federal land managers have been threatened or assaulted more than 360 times in the past few years, according to a new study that finds many attacks are coming from anti-government activists. [Trib]
-> Salt Lake City broke ground on a new $528 million water reclamation plant project on Tuesday, marking the start of the largest non-airport public utilities project in the capital city’s history. [Trib] [Fox13]
-> Some 1,300 missing ballots were discovered sitting at a printer’s office Tuesday instead of being mailed out last week to Draper residents. [Trib]
-> Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. say he is a fortnight away from announcing whether he’ll make another run for governor. [DNews]
-> Utah Republican Rep. Chris Stewart says State Department employees who go against President Donald Trump’s agenda are “betraying” the American people. [DNews]
-> South Jordan’s water supply tested clean but more assessments are underway following a resident’s complaint of contamination by a metallic element that, in excess, can cause skin burns and more serious disease. [Trib]
-> In Roy, Southbound Interstate 15 is scheduled to close Friday and Saturday nights for water pipeline work beneath the roadway. [Trib]
-> Also on Friday and Saturday, Utah Transit Authority riders may tag along with a paying friend to ride for free. [Trib]
-> An age-old Latter-day Saint prophecy says a White Horse will swoop in to save the Constitution during perilous times. Some say Sen. Mitt Romney is that prediction’s protagonist. [KUER]
Nationally: Trump likened the impeachment inquiry against him to a “lynching” in a tweet, leaving Republicans at a loss and Democrats in a firestorm of criticism. [Politico] [NYTimes] [AP]
-> A new book titled “A Warning” about the president is written by the same anonymous senior White House official who wrote the 2018 New York Times op-ed Trump deemed treasonous. [CNN] [NYTimes]
-> Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he never had a conversation with Trump where he described the president’s call with Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky as perfect. [CNN]
-> Jim Jeffrey, the U.S. special envoy for Syria, said he was not consulted on Trump’s decision to pull American troops from the country. [CNN]
-> The New York Times published the Ukraine envoy’s statement to the impeachment inquiry. Read it here. [NYTimes]
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-- Taylor Stevens and Clara Hatcher